Tonehole

Reference

Circle of Fifths & Key Signatures

Interactive circle of fifths with all 15 major and minor key signatures, relative keys and the order of sharps and flats.

CAm0GEm1♯DBm2♯AF♯m3♯EC♯m4♯BG♯m5♯F♯/G♭E♭m6♯/6♭D♭B♭m5♭A♭Fm4♭E♭Cm3♭B♭Gm2♭FDm1♭fifths ↻

How to use the circle

Moving clockwise adds one sharp (or removes one flat): C → G → D → A… Moving anticlockwise adds flats: C → F → B♭ → E♭… The inner ring shows each key's relative minor, which shares its key signature. Neighbouring keys differ by a single note, so they are the most closely related — which is why music so often modulates to the dominant (one step clockwise) or subdominant (one step anticlockwise).

Order of sharps: F C G D A E B (“Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle”). Order of flats: B E A D G C F (the same sentence backwards).